South Australian couple arrested in Malaysia for allegedly kidnapping son, 2, while under guardianship of Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine

ONE of two Families SA staff chosen to travel overseas to retrieve a toddler allegedly kidnapped by his parents refused to fly on a Malaysia Airlines flight, delaying the operation.

Nigel Hunt

The AdvertiserAugust 9, 201410:31am

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August 8th 2014

3 years ago

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ONE of two Families SA staff chosen to travel overseas to retrieve a toddler allegedly kidnapped by his parents refused to fly on a Malaysia Airlines flight, delaying the operation.

In a bizarre twist in the case, the staff member would not travel on the same flight as an SA police officer for “personal reasons’’ and, as a result, neither of the Families SA workers boarded.

The trio was booked on a flight to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday afternoon after the two-year-old northern suburbs child was found and his parents arrested, but the police officer travelled alone when the Families SA staff declined to board.

The staff member who refused to travel on Malaysia Airlines was subsequently replaced with another and the two staff were rebooked — on another Malaysia Airlines flight — that left Adelaide early on Friday.

A source familiar with the unusual turn of events said it “reflected poorly on the professionalism of the department’’.

“Putting aside the embarrassment this has caused with police, it has delayed the operation to get this child back to Adelaide,” the source said.

A government spokesman on Friday night confirmed that one worker did not travel “on a scheduled flight on Thursday for personal reasons’’, but would not elaborate on them.

He said the worker would not be subject to disciplinary action and “the department is contacting the airline in regards to cost recovery”.

Malaysia Airlines has suffered losses in passenger numbers following two recent air disasters, involving flights MH370 and MH17, that claimed hundreds of lives.

Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine last night said she was “pleased and relieved’’ police, Families SA and relevant state, Commonwealth and international authorities had been able to locate the child so quickly.

She said the child was not under a guardianship order at the time of his departure from Australia, but an Assessment and Investigation order was in place.

“The child is now under Guardianship of the Minister,’’ she said.

Police on Friday revealed a northern suburbs couple had been arrested by Malaysian police on Thursday, after allegedly abducting their son, who was living with his grandparents at a northern suburbs address at the time.

The pair, aged 26 and 23, allegedly fled to Malaysia with the toddler at 10am last Saturday aboard an Air Asia flight from Adelaide Airport.

They have been charged with the aggravated unlawful removal of a child from a jurisdiction. The maximum penalty is 19 years’ imprisonment.

Metropolitan Operations Service Chief Superintendent John Venditto said the couple had appeared in a Malaysian court and were remanded in custody.

Police have also charged the grandparents with aiding and abetting in the unlawful removal of a child from a jurisdiction.

The boy was under the guardianship of Ms Rankine when kidnapped.

He was living with his grandparents at a northern suburbs address at the time.

Police have revealed the boy is now safely in the care of Malaysian authorities and arrangements are being made for him to return to Australia with Families SA staff.

Chief-Supt Venditto would not elaborate on details of the investigation.

“Since the removal of the child from Australia it has been an extremely delicate and sensitive matter,” he said.

“It was a safe retrieval of the child.

“From a law enforcement perspective, it was an extraordinarily quick and rapid response to something that generally and normally would take a lot longer.”

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Crameri said the priority throughout the operation had been the safety and wellbeing of the boy.

“This was an incredibly delicate investigation and we were mindful that the parents could flee at any moment with the boy to an unknown location,” he said.

“Such a quick and positive outcome could not have been achieved without the cooperation of a number national and international agencies, including Interpol, the Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysian Government, Commonwealth Attorney Generals Department, Department of Foreign Affairs, South Australia DPP and the Australian Federal Police,” he said.

“The efforts of each agency has been extraordinary and I thank each one of them for their commitment and dedication,” he said.

SAPOL will now work with relevant Australian authorities to seek to have the pair extradited back to South Australia.